The Lectern is a reading stand, usually with a slanted top, on which the Bible rests and from which Bible ‘lessons’ are read during services.

 
The lectern is an important piece of church furniture. Lecterns are usually made from wood or metal and can be in a fixed place or can be portable.

The lectern is usually situated in front of the pews (seats) in a church, so that the reader faces the people in the congregation and can be seen and heard easily. People usually stand up when they are reading from a lectern.

An eagle lectern is a lectern made in the shape of an eagle on whose outstretched wings the Bible rests. Because it soars upward, the eagle is often used as symbol of Jesus’ Resurrection and Ascension (lifting up) into Heaven.

The eagle is also the symbol used to depict St John. John was one of Jesus’ disciples and wrote one of the four Gospels about the life of Jesus in the New Testament. John’s writing about Jesus is often said to ‘soar’ with inspiration – just like an eagle in flight.